Tag : IoT

4

October 2016

Weak default usernames and passwords spawned the massive DDOS attack against internet connected cameras and DVRs. Most botnets use infected PCs to generate an attack. This botnet, Mirai, was of a different breed, specifically programmed to scan the internet searching for poorly secured products, and proceeding to try redundantly obvious and easily guessed passwords. When a poorly secured device was found the botnet attempted to log into the product with a login similar to “admin” and a password with some derivative of “12345”.

The botnet’s maker released the source code, which is programmed to try a list of over 60 password and username combinations. This list gained the botnet access to over 380,000 devices. Mirai also took down the website of security researcher Brian Krebs last month in a DDOS attack.

Unfortunately this could become a bigger problem, as devices connected to the internet, such as cameras and DVRs are not created with security in mind. Passwords are not required to be changed once installed, and on a hunch I can assume that most users are not using their strongest password for their DVR. Security researchers have noticed an upward trend in DDOS attacks, as botnets continue to attack poorly secured devices and infect the devices with malware.

Krebs went online and looked up default usernames and passwords and matched them to devices, creating a list of possibly susceptible devices to the Mirai botnet. Check it out and change your passwords.

If you would like to educate yourself in more detail about the information presented in this blog post please visit: www.techconnect.com